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Amazons of Paradise Island
; Sisters of Blood and Shield | Identity = | Affiliation = Wonder Woman; Gods of Olympus | Universe = Earth-Two; Earth-One; New Earth; Prime Earth | BaseOfOperations = Paradise Island; formerly Amazonia | BodyType = Human Female | AvgHeight = Between 5'9"-6'0" | AvgWeight = Approximately 120-150 lbs. | Eyes = 2 | Hair = | Skin = | NumberOfLimbs = 4 | NumberOfFingers = 10 | NumberOfToes = 10 | SpecialAdaptations = | UnusualFeatures = | Origin = | GalaxyOfOrigin = Milky Way | StarSystemOfOrigin = Sol | HomePlanet = Earth | PlaceOfBirth = | Creators = | First = All-Star Comics Vol 1 8 | HistoryText = The Amazons of Themyscira or Paradise Island are a race of powerful warrior women, led by Queen Hippolyta, and defended by their champion Wonder Woman. Earth-Two The Amazons were a powerful race of women who lived in the aptly named Amazonia. They were eventually challenged by the strongest warrior of the Gods of Olympus, Hercules. Queen Hippolyta managed to defeat Hercules using her Aphrodite's Magic Girdle. Unfortunately, the Amazons were tricked by the Gods and forced into slavery. After dealing with excesive abuse from the Gods, Queen Hippolyta led the Amazons to freedom and they sailed until they arrived to Paradise Island, where they started their civilization anew, far away from the Gods. Earth-One Eventually, the Amazons were forced to leave Earth as their magic was exhausted after their 10,000-year stay on Earth. For this reason, they went to another dimension to rest and renew their powers, but Diana chose to remain on Earth, relinquishing her Amazonian powers. New Earth The Amazons of Themyscira are a race of immortal warrior women that live on the mystically hidden island of Themyscira. They were created by a coterie of Olympian goddesses over three thousand years ago to serve as their messengers to the world in the name of peace and justice. The youngest and most powerful of the Amazons, Princess Diana, left her protective nation of sisterhood, renouncing her immortality to fight the forces of evil in Man's World as Wonder Woman! Around the year 1200 B.C., a small group of female Olympian gods desired to create a nation of warrior women that would help to spread their ideals to the world. Met with disinterest or opposition by most of their male counterparts, the goddesses Hestia, Aphrodite, Demeter, Athena and Artemis convened in the land of the Underworld. There, in the Cavern of Souls, were kept the spirits of all women who had unjustly died at the hands of a man. The five goddesses combined their powers to grant life to all of the souls -- with the exception of one, whom they decided would have a special future purpose. Through their magics, the goddesses formed thousands of super-humanly strong, adult female bodies from the clay bed of a lake in Greece, and imbued them with the spirits from the Well of Souls. The first such creature to emerge from the lake was dubbed Hippolyta by the goddesses, and she was crowned queen of these women, to be henceforth known as Amazons. The second woman to emerge from the lake was called Antiope, and according to the goddesses she was to rule as second in command. The Amazons were to serve the Olympian gods in proselytical manner, spreading their principles and devotion to a largely barbarian world. They were given a city-state in Greece (the land adjacent to the lake of their birth), and they called it Themyscira. There they thrived for many years before they were attacked by the forces of Hercules, and were saved only through the intervention of the goddesses. Their home destroyed and prospects for success in their worldly mission dashed, Antiope led a portion of the Amazons away from her sister and the influence of the gods, to travel the world in search of a new purpose. They eventually settled in Egypt, becoming known as the Amazons of Bana Migdhall. Most Amazons, however, stayed with Hippolyta. To repay the gods for their rescue, the remaining Amazons were sent far away from their home in Greece to a mystical, paradisal island in uncharted oceans. There the Amazons took up a new gods-given purpose -- to guard the Earth from a terrible evil buried beneath the island. For thousands of years the Amazons of Themyscira stayed isolated from humanity, until about 40 years ago, when Diana Trevor, an American airplane pilot, crash-landed off-shore. Diana Trevor became friends with the inhabitants of Themyscira and taught them of the changes in the world beyond their protected shores. Shortly thereafter the demons locked beneath the island almost escaped, but through the bravery and ultimate sacrifice of Trevor, the threat was averted. She was given an Amazon's burial and hailed as one of the greatest of all Amazon warriors. The gods of Olympus were greatly disturbed by Trevor's entrance through the mystical barriers that guarded Themyscira, and recognized it as a sign of their weakening powers. When Hippolyta soon followed her mounting desire to ask the gods to grant her a child, they easily agreed, and took it as an opportunity to create a super-warrior who would champion their causes as the Amazons had originally been intended to. Telling Hippolyta to sculpt a baby out of clay, the gods that created the Amazons brought life to the earthen baby, and the first child of Themyscira was born. She was named Diana, in honor of Trevor, and her soul was that of the last remaining spirit from the Well of Souls. When she grew to adulthood, Princess Diana left Themyscira and became known to the world as Wonder Woman. Since Diana left the protective shores of Themyscira, many adventures and tragedies have befallen the mighty Amazons, including: the eradication of the evil beneath the island; visits to Man's world; a long period of banishment to a demonic dimension by the witch Circe; murder of over half their population by the evil Darkseid; -104 the discovery and reintegration of the Amazons of Bana Migdhall, and an ensuing Civil War; the death of Hippolyta at the hand of Imperiex, and the destruction of the entire island in its use as a weapon against him; the rebuilding of Themyscira by the sentient being within Wonder Woman's Invisible Plane as a floating, crystalline center dedicated to the realization of world peace; the destruction of that version of Themyscira by a jealous Hera, and the effort to rebuild. Most recently, the Amazons, during the event known as the Infinite Crisis, engaged in a seemingly unwinnable battle with the death-dealing cyborgs known as OMACs. To avoid their own destruction and to avoid murdering the innocent people inside the OMAC constructs, the Amazons prayed to their gods to be delivered from the terrible situation. They, and the entire battle-scarred island of Themysicira, disappeared instantly to an unknown location or dimension, leaving Wonder Woman as the only remaining Amazon on Earth. A time later the Amazons and Themyscira were returned to Earth. They soon fell under the sway of Circe (New Earth) and Granny Goodness (New Earth), used a revived and controlled Hippolyta as their pawn, in an event known as Amazons Attack!, and struck out in an invasion of Washington DC. When the scheme was undone, the Amazons involved had their memories erased and were scattered across the globe as penance, save for Hippolyta who remained on the island, which was rendered off-limits to all the other Amazons, including Diana. A band of superhuman Nazis under the command of Captain Nazi (New Earth) tried to take over the deserted island, but Wonder Woman was able to return home and assist Hippolyta in fighting them off. Soon after, the Amazons were restored and returned home. An Amazon named Alkyone and her circle tried to take over in an attempt to kill Wonder Woman and restore Hippolyta to the throne, but was killed in the attempt. Finally, when Washington DC fell under attack by a band of alien invaders called the Citizenry, lead by a woman claiming to be Hippolyta's sister, the Amazons rushed to their aid to defend the city alongside Achilles' forces against the invaders. After the battle, Hippolyta offered to stay to help clean up the damages done to the city and rebuild in attempt to atone for the actions committed by the Amazons during the Amazons Attack event. Prime Earth The Amazons are children of the Queen of the Olympian Gods, Hera, goddess of women. They are part of a race of immortal warrior women and live on the mystically hidden island of Themyscira. When humankind was still young, the matriarchal oracles of each pantheon foresaw a danger coming from the stars. Since the gods, who couldn't see the threat, didn't take it seriously, those goddesses united to find a solution and decided to create a new race. To achieve that, they poured their godly essences into the Holy Grail, so their energies would mingle, and each goddess drank a sip from the resulting liquid. Afterwards, the goddesses split up to find consorts and give birth to the new race. Hera, the matriarchal oracle of the Olympian pantheon, went to Themyscira and gave birth to the new race under the name of Amazons. Thus, tribes such as the Amazons and the Valkyries are part of the same race, sharing the same origin. However, according to the version of the mythology known by Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva, was the mother of the Amazons by Ares, but it was also mentioned by the Amazon Castalia that the was their mother by Ares (not to be confused with the goddess Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite). The truth of their true origin and destiny would be kept from the Amazons for centuries, until an Amazon general named Hessia discovered the truth during her journey in the Viking era. As in Hessia's eyes, the Amazons should be able to choose their own destiny, she cut the "thread of Amazon destiny" held by the Moirai. Unbeknown to Hessia, her action didn't stop the goddesses' scheme; they prophesied the birth of a woman whose destiny would be to lead the Amazons. More centuries would pass before the birth of the "prophesied one": Diana, later to be known as Wonder Woman. | Habitat = | Gravity = | Atmosphere = Amazons thrive in an oxygen/nitrogen rich atmosphere | Population = Various; at their highest growth, Amazons numbered in the thousands. At one point, lost 1200, which was half their number at the time. | Powers = | Abilities = | AvgStrength = * | Weaknesses = | GovernmentType = * In most versions it's a monarchy. On New Earth it's originally a monarchy, but Themyscira became a democratic nation following the death of Hippolyta. | TechnologyLevel = * Variable (from that of Ancient Greece to a society more advanced than the rest of the world) | CulturalTraits = * Ancient Greek | Representatives = * Wonder Woman * Hippolyta * Antiope * Mala * Philippus * Artemis * Hessia Honorary Amazons People who have either been proclaimed as Amazons or have called Paradise Island "home": * Donna Troy, proclaimed as the second Princess of Themyscira * Wonder Girl (Cassandra Sandsmark), received Amazonian training from Artemis * Fury (Helena Kosmatos), Hippolyta's other "adopted daughter" * Harbinger, served as the island's official historian until her death * Nemesis, only male honorary Amazon * Supergirl, received Amazonian training from Artemis * Starfire, sought refuge in the island after her home planet Tamaran was destroyed * Baroness Paula Von Gunther, was last seen living among the Amazons after separating from the Dark Angel entity Amazons gone rogue * Hope, Lex Luthor's Bodyguard * Mercy, Lex Luthor's Bodyguard * Grace Choi's mother * Exoristos, exiled amazon and member of the Demon Knights | Notes = * These characters are an adaptation of the Amazons, a race in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found . | Trivia = * Without the energy of the gods to sustain them, the Amazons revert to the clay from which they were born. | DC = None | Links = }} Category:Wonder Woman Category:Amazons Category:Races from Earth Category:1941 Race Debuts